Virtually every community in the country has something that they can point to that propels them to the top of some real or perceived hierarchy. The factor that makes Denver’s rankings enviably distinctive is that there are so many right at the top of anyone’s list of just about anything.

Colorado ranks fifth in number of new businesses per 1,000 employees(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012)

Denver is the 3rd best American city for startups(VentureBeat, 2012)

Colorado ranks third in U.S. for proprietors as percentage of total employment(U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2012)

Denver has more small businesses than most large cities; metro Denver is #3 among the largest 20 urban areas for having the fewest number of employees per business (14.38)(American City Business Journals, 2011)

Metro Denver ranked 9th among the nation’s 100 largest markets for the number of new retail jobs(American City Business Journals, 2012)